Three of the foremost and pioneering institutions in padel – Premier Padel, Hexagon Cup and the International Padel Federation – have announced a strategic partnership aimed at super-charging the growth of padel worldwide. This collaboration brings together one of the world’s most innovative and ambitious groups in sport – Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) – with Hexagon Cup, the ground-breaking padel competition and entertainment event. The strategic partnership will encompass a range of collaborations, initiatives and projects, drawing on the experience, networks and connections of all groups to drive the development of padel globally.
At the highest level, Premier Padel and Hexagon Cup will merge their strong foundations in the world of sports and entertainment to work on a range of initiatives to launch new tournament concepts, brands and ideas. In the immediate term, Premier Padel and Hexagon Cup will promote each other’s existing events, while Hexagon Cup has already started the process of becoming a recognised FIP tournament. In addition, the parties will explore a further expansion of the Hexagon Cup circuit – which currently comprises one single tournament in Madrid – in new and emerging padel territories worldwide. A second immediate project is the delivery of the first-ever FIP Intercontinental Cup, taking place in Europe this summer, where the Hexagon Cup team has been appointed by FIP to be a partner of the event. The tournament, which will also be supported by Premier Padel, will see further details – including date, venue and name of the tournament – released in the coming months. These initiatives are all geared towards raising awareness of padel, engaging new audiences and markets, and ultimately supporting FIP’s Olympic pathway for padel at future Games.
Luigi Carraro, President of the International Padel Federation, is keen to impress how this strategic alliance is for the benefit of “the whole ecosystem of the sport”, stressing how the IPF’s relationship with Hexagon Cup and Premier Padel is in the “collective interest” of padel on both a professional and amateur level. These sentiments are shared by Enrique Buenaventura, Founder of Hexagon Cup, whose aim of taking padel “to a new level internationally” is central to the partnership between these groups. Buenaventura and Carraro have displayed a shared interest in strengthening padel’s fan base within under-exploited areas, with Buenaventura expressing that this idea is “key” to accelerating padel’s global popularity and international exposure.
This strategic alliance is for the benefit of “the whole ecosystem of the sport”
Much like on the court, the groups behind this alliance are eager to emphasize that collaboration and creativity will be the cornerstones of increasing padel’s popularity. David Sugden, Premier Padel’s CEO, describes how inter-institution cooperation will ensure that the alliance’s “collective mission” – to promote the sport globally with the intention of ensuring padel’s Olympic inclusion – is met and ultimately exceeded. This Olympic intention is stressed by all three institutional heads and appears to be a central mechanism by which this strategic alliance hopes to raise Padel’s international profile. Buenaventura speaks of achieving “Olympic inclusion at the earliest opportunity”, highlighting how important the sport’s global governing body views this goal in relation to padel’s international image.
Ultimately, this strategic alliance begins an exciting new chapter to Padel’s international journey and promises to dynamize an already ambitious and innovative sport even further. Premier Padel, Hexagon Cup and the International Padel Federation are leading the Padel into uncharted territory both on and off the court and pave the way for an exciting period for one of the world’s quickest-growing sports.
